By JC
Hey guys! Here is my summary and thoughts about the 9th Pokemon Black and White episode. I’m excited to start. I just finished seeing it and I’m going to say that it’s my favorite episode so far. We see a change of pace, as the episode starts out with a battle between Iris and Cilan. However, this is no ordinary battle; instead, Iris has asked Cilan to get easy on her so she can train her Axew. Axew’s futile attempts are shunned by Pansage in hilarious fashion and the battle is abruptly stopped after a botched Dragon Rage.
Our heroes sit in a tree to relax. Ash and Cilan joke about Axew’s “Dragon Sneeze,” but soon after offer encouragement and help. We get to see some of Iris’s backstory including how she got Axew. Meanwhile, Team Rocket receives updated orders to head to the Desert Resort in search of a meteorite and is notified that they will rendezvous with another agent. Pikachu and Axew are playing in the forest and looking for apples when they accidently disturb a wild Scolipede. The trainers see a commotion in the distance and run to investigate. Pikachu reaches them and communicates that Axew is stuck between Scolipede’s antennae.
Ash, Iris, and Cilan work together to confront the wild Scolipede. Iris sends out her Excadrill, but it just stays still. The combined attacks of Snivy, Tepig, Pikachu, and Pansage are enough to distract the Scolipede and Iris swoops down and rescues her Axew. The angered Scolipede accidently kicks Excadrill who isn’t too happy about it and retaliates with Dig. Excadrill defeats Scolipede and our heroes triumph. Iris realizes things about herself and Ash decides to battle Pikachu himself. The journey continues!
It was a treat to start off the episode with a battle. There is a twist in that Axew is a really poor battler and Cilan is just helping her out. The battle is a must-see; it is very entertaining and funny. The weakened Bullet Seed and Solarbeam from Pansage was great stuff. Axew is just too cute. We also see a bit of role-reversal from Ash who is constantly yelling advice from the sidelines.
We get to see some character development for Iris in this episode. I enjoyed learning how she got her Axew and seeing her hometown (we get to see Fraxures and Axews and statues of Zekrom and Reshiram). Axew and Iris really seem to love each other and that’s a good thing. Team Rocket is lying low for now, just how I like it. I welcome their characters, just not every single episode. I like how the suspense is building up. The rest of the episode revolves around how Ash, Cilan, and Iris take care of the Scolipede problem and is filled with great animation.
First of all, I was really surprised to hear Scolipede’s voice. I thought it would be deeper, but it’s really nasally and high. The scene where Pikachu mimicked Scolipede is pure gold. He twists his ears in a way to mimic Scolipede’s antennae. I liked the entire “battle” because it felt like a boss battle. We got to see a lot of Pokemon working together as well as Excadrill, who is also one of my favorites of the Unova region. I was surprised that Iris had another Pokemon, and even more surprised when she sent out Excadrill. His disobedience reminds me of Ash’s Charizard. I really want to know how Iris caught this one. There is a lot of great animation between the combinations of Pokemon in this episode. The episode ends with a funny battle between Ash and Pikachu. This is definitely my favorite episode so far, I highly recommend it!
Tags: Axew, Cilan, Iris, Pikachu, Pokemon TV Show, Scolipede